‘I’m prepared to fight them until the bitter end’
Buyer of new house in Rathmolyon development locked in deadlock with the developer who says an additional injection of cash is needed or the project can't be completed
A HOME buyer who is refusing to pay a developer an extra €60,000 to finish building her house in a new Rathmolyon estate says she is “prepared to fight until until the bitter end."
The woman who asked not to be named is one of a dozen buyers who entered into contracts with the developer but have since been asked to pay extra on top of the agreed sale price of €275,000 due to the project running into financial difficulties.
Buyers of ‘Ring Fort’ a development by Meathamatics Ltd consisting of 16 three- and four-bedroom semi-detached homes in Rathmolyon signed contracts and paid thousands in deposits, some more than three years ago but are now in deadlock with the developer who says an additional injection of cash is needed or the project can’t be completed.
Earlier this month buyers received a letter stating that the development had “run into significant difficulty” due to “spiralling costs"and proposed a meeting to see if a “mutually beneficial” solution could be found for all parties.
A number of meetings between solicitors acting for the buyers and the developer took place last week at a hotel in Dublin but one buyer says she will not be “put over a barrel."
"A couple of buyers did go with their solicitors but I refused the meeting and asked my solicitor not to attend,” she said. "They asked if I would attend by myself and I said no, if they have proposals to put them in writing,” she added.
The local woman believes €60,000 is an excessive figure to ask from each buyer.
"If you calculate the €60k from each house, it is nearly €1m. How is the figure of €60,000 being calculated?
"I’m prepared to fight them until the bitter end. If they are allowed get away with this, what will stop other developers doing the same?”
Another buyer said she and her partner were “distraught” after the meeting.
"They had the cheek to suggest “just go back to your lender and borrow more”.
"This is, in effect, pricing people out of their mortgages.
"Even if people did have that money to hand over - could we be in this exact scenario in six months time again?”
The group was initially told the first phase of the construction for the houses bought off the plans would be completed in early 2022 with the second phase due to be finished in later the same year. Further delays pushed the deadline back to 2023 and almost one year after last speaking out about the situation, they are no closer to being home owners.
Last week exasperated buyers told of how the hold up in completing the housing estate had left them in limbo after work was brought to a halt and the site was locked up a number of weeks ago.
Cllr Emer Tóibín explained at a public meeting held last week in Rathmoylon that she had spoken to the loan provider HBFI (Home Building Finance Ireland) and to staff at Minister O'Brien's office and department and to MCC Housing director to see could the government step in to help the purchasers. To date, the answer has been no.
"This is extremely disappointing to hear, because the government-run Help to Buy scheme was availed of in this deal and the HBFI, government lending agency, provided financing, " she said.
Surely, no purchaser should or can be left exposed to this when there is government involvement.
“This developer should complete these contracts and the government must step in and apply pressure", concluded Cllr Tóibín.
A spokesperson for Meathamatics Ltd had said: “The company is suffering a significant financial situation due to matters outside of its control - including significant delays and spiralling costs. We are in discussions with all parties to find reasonable solutions.”
Meath Co Council has been also been contacted for comment.